I think Whisenhunt's become a bit overrated as of late- he's done a nice job, but he seems to alternate between hyper-conservative playcalling and creeping Mularkeyism. Don't get me wrong, I think he's good, but not genius-level good. The Steelers lived off of big plays for most of the year. No one seemed to talk about it, but most people who watched the Steelers all year (like me) noticed how spotty the running game was all year, and I think Whisenhunt deserves some heat for that. (As an aside, when people love the offense, it's Whiz; when the offense is sucking it up, it's all Cowher's fault. I digress.)

Anyway, good to see he's smart enough to stay away from the Raiders. That team is a mess. It also opens the door for the return of Art Shell, which should be fun- those teams were always mistake-prone, and Shell couldn't manage the clock to save his life. I love train wrecks.

Rocco wrote:I think Whisenhunt's become a bit overrated as of late- he's done a nice job, but he seems to alternate between hyper-conservative playcalling and creeping Mularkeyism. Don't get me wrong, I think he's good, but not genius-level good. The Steelers lived off of big plays for most of the year. No one seemed to talk about it, but most people who watched the Steelers all year (like me) noticed how spotty the running game was all year, and I think Whisenhunt deserves some heat for that. (As an aside, when people love the offense, it's Whiz; when the offense is sucking it up, it's all Cowher's fault. I digress.)

Anyway, good to see he's smart enough to stay away from the Raiders. That team is a mess. It also opens the door for the return of Art Shell, which should be fun- those teams were always mistake-prone, and Shell couldn't manage the clock to save his life. I love train wrecks.

One difference between Wisenhunt and Mularkey is that Mularkey was ready to run any gadget play at any time regardless if the situation was right for it or not. Mularkey ran so many gadget plays that it was more of a surprise to opponents when they actually lined up and ran a normal play. BTW, does anyone still want Mularkey to take over for Cowher?

The running game was definetely spotty but part of that comes from the fact that Parker is not a back who is going to grind out yards consistently. Obviously the 75 yard runs are great but he is not going to consistently get yards and move the chains. As the playoffs showed the Steelers left a lot of their offense untapped throughout the season. Part of this was due to Ben's health but Ben showed what he can do given the oppurtunity.

I think Wisenhunt is a very good coordinator and I think he made a good move by getting out of consideration for the Oakland job. He was not going to win a Super Bowl there in the near future and that would have gotten him fired and put a damper on the success he has had lately. Regardless of what the Steelers do next year he will still be hot property for a head job and probably in a better oppurtunity thank Oakland. Also head coaching is not for everyone all he has to do is walk down the hall and ask Dick LeBeau about it.

Branching out to other sports, has there ever been a more overhyped one dimensional player than Kevin Pittsnogle? Also tonight is the most I have seen of either Pitt and I have seen slightly more of WVU but they are not playing like top level basketball teams tonight, this game is UGLY.

One difference between Wisenhunt and Mularkey is that Mularkey was ready to run any gadget play at any time regardless if the situation was right for it or not. Mularkey ran so many gadget plays that it was more of a surprise to opponents when they actually lined up and ran a normal play.

Buffalo fans learned that the hard way- Mularkey seemed to lack any sense of the flow of the game. You could always count on something goofy on 3rd and 1 when the running game was dominant. Whiz seems to drift into that at times though- going pass-wacky when the running game is fine. He also tended to try and run even when it wasn't working. He had an odd split-personality at times, and part of me thinks that Ben made him look better than he is given how Ben is the truth.

The running game was definetely spotty but part of that comes from the fact that Parker is not a back who is going to grind out yards consistently. Obviously the 75 yard runs are great but he is not going to consistently get yards and move the chains. As the playoffs showed the Steelers left a lot of their offense untapped throughout the season. Part of this was due to Ben's health but Ben showed what he can do given the oppurtunity.

The Steelers need to improve the running game, either by working on the o-line or getting a new RB. Otherwise, they need to make the offense Ben-centric. Also, they need to keep Ben in one piece, since we know that Batch gets hurt easily and Maddox can't be trusted against a high school team. I don't think they draft an RB early, and while there may be an OL worth drafting, I'm nervous about trusting a rookie OL.

Branching out to other sports, has there ever been a more overhyped one dimensional player than Kevin Pittsnogle? Also tonight is the most I have seen of either Pitt and I have seen slightly more of WVU but they are not playing like top level basketball teams tonight, this game is UGLY

WVU's having a terrible shooting night tonight- if Pitt could keep from turning the ball over this game would be a rout. Neither team brought their A-game. And Pittsnogle put up a bagel and fouled out with 7 minutes left. Pitt is doing everything they can to keep WVU in this game, which isn't smart given how well WVU can hit 3s at any moment (even though this looks like a bricklayers convention right now).

If, and it's been proven to be a big if, Staley can stay healthy there is no problem with the running game. Staley showed in Philly he can be a West Coast back catching passes out of the back field and last year, before he got hurt, showed he can be a power back as well. The diversity Staley alone could bring to the offense makes Ben's job easier. Staley to me is a combination of Bettis and Haynes and him and Parker would be a good tandem.

But it all comes back to that big if, can he stay healthy for a full year?

I am not all that worried about what the Steelers do with their running back situation. Its been proven that a team does not need anything special at the running back position to win. A combo of running backs who are good can do the job. This is especially true because running backs have such a short shelf life anymore and really can not be counted on to be healthy from season to season because of the pounding they take.

As Rocco said the Steelers need to make sure their offensive line stays solid with or without Hartings and make the offense be about Ben first everything else second. They have a bigtime TE in Miller, a decent recieving core which could be upgraded (probably from within by playing Quincy Morgan more) but the more the offense goes through Ben next year the better.

The Steelers might end up having to replace Randle El simply because someone, Chicago, might throw big money at him to make a free agency splash. The Steelers will not and should not overpay for ARE simply because he is not worth it. Yes, ARE is versatile on offense and returns punts but he is replaceable especially if someone is willing to throw #1 reciever type money at him.